Obama aide to oversee VA review

Julie Pace, Associated Press

May 14, 2014

Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, STF

FILE - In this March 14, 2013, file photo, Rob Nabors, President Barack Obama's deputy chief of staff, leaves a closed-door meeting between Obama and Senate Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington. Obama is dispatching Nabor, one of his closest White House advisers to oversee an investigation of the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs as the agency grapples with allegations of treatment delays and preventable deaths, as well as persistent questions about benefits backlogs. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - In this March 14, 2013, file photo, Rob Nabors, President...

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama is dispatching one of his closest White House advisers to oversee a review of the beleaguered Veterans Affairs Department as the agency grapples with allegations of treatment delays and preventable deaths at a Phoenix veterans hospital.

White House deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors will be temporarily assigned to the VA to work on a review focused on policies for patient safety rules and the scheduling of patient appointments, officials said Wednesday.

The move signals Obama's growing concern over problems at the department, particularly recent reports that hospital administrators in Phoenix kept an off-the-books list to conceal long wait times as 40 veterans died waiting to get an appointment. Similar problems have since been reported in other states.

The allegations have sparked a firestorm inside the VA and on Capitol Hill. The American Legion and some congressional Republicans have called for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.

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"While we get to the bottom of what happened in Phoenix, it's clear the VA needs to do more to ensure quality care for our veterans," Obama said in a statement. "I'm grateful that Rob, one of my most trusted advisers, has agreed to work with Secretary Shinseki to help the team at this important moment."

Obama ordered the patient policy review after the Phoenix allegations became public. But officials said Shinseki requested more help with the review, leading Obama's chief of staff, Denis McDonough, to tap Nabors for the assignment.